Method and system for centralized or distributed resource management in a distributed transceiver network

ABSTRACT

A master application device comprises a plurality of distributed transceivers, a central baseband processor, and a network management engine that manages operation of the master application device and end-user application devices. The master application device communicates data streams to the end-user devices utilizing one or more distributed transceivers selected from the plurality of distributed transceivers. The selected distributed transceivers and the end-user devices are concurrently configured by the network management engine based on corresponding link quality and propagation environment. The network management engine allocates resources to the selected distributed transceivers and the end-user devices during the data communication. The network management engine continuously monitors communication environment information to configure beamforming settings and/or antenna arrangement for the selected distributed transceivers. Beam patterns are selected for the selected distributed transceivers so as to minimize power consumption and/or based on the location and orientation information of the end-user application devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application makes reference to, claims priority to andclaims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/548,201 filed on Oct. 17, 2011.

This application makes reference to:

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25066US02) filedon May 16, 2012;

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25067US02) filedon May 16, 2012;

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25069US02) filedon May 16, 2012;

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25070US02) filedon May 16, 2012;

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25071US02) filedon May 16, 2012; and

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25072US02) filedon May 16, 2012.

Each of the above stated applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to signal processing forcommunication systems. More specifically, certain embodiments of theinvention relate to a method and system for centralized or distributedresource management in a distributed transceiver network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Millimeter Wave (mmWave) devices are being utilized for high throughputwireless communications at very high carrier frequencies. There areseveral standards bodies such as, for example, 60 GHz wireless standard,WirelessHD, WiGig, and WiFi IEEE 802.11 ad that utilize high frequenciessuch as the 60 GHz frequency spectrum for high throughput wirelesscommunications. In the US, the 60 GHz spectrum band may be used forunlicensed short range data links such as data links within a range of1.7 km, with data throughputs up to 6 Gbits/s. These higher frequenciesmay provide smaller wavelengths and enable the use of small high gainantennas. However, these higher frequencies may experience highpropagation loss.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method and/or system for centralized or distributed resourcemanagement in a distributed transceiver network, substantially as shownin and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, asset forth more completely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat supports resource management in a centralized managed distributedtransceiver network, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary usage scenario wheredistributed transceivers are centrally managed to create ahigh-performance link between a transmitting device and one receivingdevice, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary usage scenario wherehigh-performance links are created between a master application deviceand one or more end-user application devices in a centralized manageddistributed transceiver network, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary transceiver module, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary master device with acollection of distributed transceivers that are implemented in a startopology, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary master device with acollection of distributed transceivers that are implemented in a ringtopology, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary transceiver module with asingle antenna that has fixed directionality, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary transceiver module with aconfigurable phased antenna array, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating exemplary steps utilized by a masterdevice with a collection of distributed transceivers to establish ahigh-throughput link with an end-user application device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating exemplary steps utilized by a masterdevice for resource management during communication, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and systemfor centralized or distributed resource management in a distributedtransceiver network. In accordance with various exemplary embodiments ofthe invention, a single network management engine is utilized to manageoperation of a master application device and a plurality of end-userapplication devices that are served or managed by the master applicationdevice in a communication network. In some embodiments of the invention,the “master” device may be just a logical assignment and all devices inthe network may have similar computational and communicationscapabilities. In such embodiments, a peer-to-peer network may beestablished with no access point involved. The master application devicecomprises a plurality of distributed transceivers, a central basebandprocessor, and the network management engine. An end-user applicationdevice served by the master application device does not comprise thenetwork management engine and has no access to manage the networkmanagement engine. The master application device may communicate datastreams utilizing one or more distributed transceivers selected from theplurality of the distributed transceivers to one or more end-userdevices. The network management engine may concurrently configure theselected one or more distributed transceivers and the one or moreend-user devices based on corresponding link quality and propagationenvironment. The network management engine may allocate and manageresources in the communication network and perform transmit powercontrol, frequency hopping and/or beam pattern hopping to reduce outsideelectrical or RF interference during the data communication. The centralbaseband processor may perform digital signal processing needed fortransmit and receive operations for each of the selected one or moredistributed transceivers. The network management engine may continuouslymonitor communication environment information such as, for example,propagation environment conditions, link quality, device capabilities,usage of resources, available resources, device locations, targetthroughput, and/or application QoS requirements. Beamforming settings,transmit power levels per transceiver for different devices and/orantenna arrangement may be configured for the selected one or moredistributed transceivers based on the communication environmentinformation. The network management engine may select beam patterns soas to minimize power consumption, and/or based on device location andorientation information.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat supports resource management in a centralized managed distributedtransceiver network, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a communication network 100comprising a plurality of application devices, of which applicationdevices 111-119 are displayed.

The application devices 111-119 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,code, and/or interfaces that may be operable to communicate voice anddata with one to another over wired and/or wireless connections. In anexemplary embodiment of the invention, each of the application devices111-119 in the communication network 100 may comprise one or moredistributed transceivers (DTs) for communication in the communicationnetwork 100. For example, distributed transceivers 111 a through 119 amay be integrated in the application devices 111 through 119,respectively, and utilized for receiving and transmitting signals. Eachdistributed transceiver may be equipped with an independentlyconfigurable antenna or antenna array that is operable to transmit andreceive signals over the air. For example, the distributed transceivers111 a each may be equipped with an independently configurable antennaarray 111 b, and the distributed transceiver 118 a, however, may beequipped with a single independently configurable antenna 118 b totransmit and receive signals over the air. Depending on devicecapabilities and user preferences, distributed transceivers such as thedistributed transceivers 111 a within the application device 111, forexample, may comprise radios such as, for example, a millimeter Wave(mmWave), a WLAN, WiMax, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), cellularradios, WiMAX radio, or other types of radios. In this regard, radiossuch as mmWave radios may be utilized at very high carrier frequenciesfor high throughput wireless communications.

In an exemplary operation, the distributed transceivers 111 a through119 a in the communication network 100 are physically positioned andoriented at different locations within corresponding application devicessuch like laptop, TV, gateway and/or set-top box. The distributedtransceivers 111 a through 119 a may be centrally managed by a singlenetwork management engine (NME) 120 of the communication network 100. Inan exemplary embodiment of the invention, the network management engine120 may reside within a specific application device in the communicationnetwork 100. The network management engine 120 may be centralized as afull software implementation on a separate or remote networkmicroprocessor, for example. An application device in the communicationnetwork 100 may act or function as a master application device or anend-user application device. The application device may be an accesspoint (e.g., WLAN 802.11abgn), a base station (e.g., cellular 3G/LTE),or a node in a peer-to-peer link (e.g., Bluetooth). An applicationdevice that comprises the network management engine 120 and/or may haveaccess to manage or control the network management engine 120 todynamically configure and manage operation of the entire distributedtransceivers in the communication network 100 is referred to a masterapplication device. An application device that does not comprise thenetwork management engine 120 and/or may have no access to manage orcontrol the network management engine 120 is referred to as an end-userapplication device.

In some instances, the application device 111 acts as a masterapplication device in the communication network 100. In an exemplaryembodiment of the invention, the network management engine 120 in themaster application device 111 may be utilized to configure, control, andmanage the entire distributed transceivers 111 a through 119 a in thecommunication network 100 to optimize network performance. Theapplication devices 111-119 each may operate in a transmission mode orin a receiving mode. In instances where the master application device111 is transmitting multimedia information such as, for example, images,video, voice, as well as any other form of data to one or more receivingdevices such as the end-user application devices 112-116, the networkmanagement engine 120 in the master application device 111 may beenabled to monitor and collect corresponding communication environmentinformation or characteristics from the end-user application devices112-116. The collected communication environment information maycomprise propagation environment conditions, link quality, devicecapabilities, antenna polarization, radiation pattern, antenna spacing,array geometry, device locations, target throughput, and/or applicationQoS requirements reported. The network management engine 120 may beoperable to dynamically configure the distributed transceivers 111 a-116a and associated antenna or antenna array 111 b-116 b or transmit powerlevels of 111 b-116 b of the associated antenna or antenna array 111b-116 b, and to coordinate and manage the operation of the distributedtransceivers 111 a-116 a and associated antenna or antenna array 111b-116 b based on the collected communication environment information.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the network managementengine 120 may be operable to perform resource allocation and managementfor the master application device 111 and the end-user applicationdevices 112-116 during the transmission. For example, the managementengine 120 may decide which transceivers at the master applicationdevice 111 need to be activated or switched on, and at what transmitpower levels. Frequency or channel assignment may be performed by themanagement engine 120 to each of the active distributed transceivers atthe master application device 111. In this regard, the management engine120 may configure the master application device 111 to maintaincontinuous connections with the plurality of end-user applicationdevices 112-116 as needed. In another example, for each of the activedistributed transceivers at the master application device 111, themanagement engine 120 may select beam patterns, antenna polarization,antenna spacing, and/or array geometry with least power consumption inaccordance with corresponding physical locations of the activateddistributed transceivers. Furthermore, the management engine 120 mayenable implementation of transmit power control to save power, minimizecross-interference between various wireless links, and to optimizeend-to-end network performance.

In the collected communication environment information, the link qualitymay comprise signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) at different transceivers,signal-to-interference-noise ratios (SINR) at different transceivers,and/or signal-to-leakage-noise ratios (SLNR) at different devices andtransceivers. The application device capabilities may comprise batterycapacity, battery life, number of transceivers, number of antennas pertransceiver, device interface types, maximum transmit power level, powerconsumption in transmit/receive modes, processing protocols, servicetypes, service classes and/or service requirements. The interface typesfor the application devices 111-119 may comprise access interface typessuch as, for example, Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCa), WiFi.Bluetooth, Ethernet, Femtocell, and/or cordless. The processingprotocols may comprise service layer protocols, IP layer protocols andlink layer protocols, as specified, for example, in the Open SystemsInterconnect (OSI) model. The service layer protocols may comprisesecure protocols such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and controlprotocols such as Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). The IP layer protocolsmay comprise IP signaling protocols such as, for example, SIP and H.323,and IP media transport protocols such as, for example, TCP, UDP, RTP,RTC and RTCP. The link layer protocols may comprise technology-specificPHY and MAC layer protocols such as, for example, Multimedia over CoaxAlliance (MoCa), WiFi, Ethernet, Femtocell, and/or cordless.

Although communication among the application devices 111-119 with one ormore distributed transceivers is illustrated in FIG. 1, the inventionmay not be so limited. Accordingly, an application device may beoperable to utilize one or more associated distributed transceivers tocommunicate with one or more application devices with normaltransceivers without departing from the spirit and scope of variousembodiments of the invention (thereby providing backward compatibilitywith traditional or standard transceiver implementations). In someembodiments of the invention, a subset of the application devices111-119 may comprise or support positioning techniques to identify thedevice's location. Such techniques may comprise global navigationsatellite system (GNSS) (e.g. GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS), assisted-GPS, WLANbased positioning, and triangulation-based techniques. The location datamay be then utilized by the NME 120 according to some other embodimentsof this patent application.

FIG. 2A is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary usage scenario wheredistributed transceivers are centrally managed to create ahigh-performance link between a transmitting device and one receivingdevice, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 2A, there is shown a master application device 210 and an end-userapplication device 220.

The master application device 210 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicatemultimedia information such as, for example, images, video, voice, aswell as any other forms of data with one or more application devicessuch as the end-user application device 220. The master applicationdevice 210 may comprise a collection of distributed transceivers 212 athrough 212 e, and a central processor 217 that comprises a centralbaseband processor 214, a network management engine 216 and a memory218. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, each of the collectionof distributed transceivers 212 a through 212 e may be physicallypositioned and oriented at different locations within an applicationdevice such as, for example, a laptop, TV, gateway, and set-top box. Inthis regard, the collection of distributed transceivers 212 a through212 e may be implemented in various ways such as, for example, a singledistributed transceiver integrated in a single chip package; multiplesilicon dies on one single chip; and multiple distributed transceiverson a single silicon die. Depending on device capabilities and userpreferences, the distributed transceivers 212 a-212 e may be oriented ina fixed direction or multiple different directions. In another exemplaryembodiment of the invention, the collection of distributed transceivers212 a-212 e may be operable to receive and/or transmit radio frequencysignals from and/or to the end-user application device 220 using airinterface protocols specified in UMTS, GSM, LTE, WLAN, 60 GHz/mmWave,and/or WiMAX, for example.

The central baseband processor 214 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to performbaseband digital signal processing needed for transmission and receivingoperation of the entire collection of distributed transceivers 212 athrough 212 e. For example, the central baseband processor 214 may beoperable to perform waveform generation, equalization, and/or packetprocessing associated with the operation of the collection ofdistributed transceivers 212 a through 212 e. In addition, the centralbaseband processor 224 may be operable to configure, manage and controlorientations of the distributed transceivers 212 a-212 e.

The network management engine 216 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to monitor andcollect communication environment information such as, for example,propagation environment conditions, link quality, application devicecapabilities, antenna polarization, radiation pattern, antenna spacing,array geometry, transmitter/receiver locations, target throughput,and/or application QoS requirements. The network management engine 216may utilize the collected communication environment information toconfigure system, network and communication environment conditions asneeded. For example, the network management engine 216 may be operableto perform high level system configurations such as, for example, thenumber of transceivers that are activated, the number of applicationdevices that are being communicated with, adding/dropping applicationdevices to the communication network 100. As shown in FIG. 2A, thenetwork management engine 216 is residing in the master applicationdevice 210. However, in some embodiments the network management engine216 may reside on different network devices such as, for example,separate network microprocessors and servers on the communicationnetwork 100. The network management engine 216 may comprise a fullsoftware implementation, for example. In addition, the functionality ofthe network management engine 216 may be distributed over severaldevices in the communication network 100. In some embodiments thenetwork management engine 216 may be operable to manage communicationsessions over the communication network 100. In this regard, the networkmanagement engine 216 may be operable to coordinate operation ofbaseband processors in the communication network 100 such that variousbaseband processing may be split or shared among the basebandprocessors. For example, the network management engine 216 may enablemultiple central baseband processors such as, for example, the centralbaseband processor 214 and the central baseband processor 226 forparallel baseband processing in order to increase throughput if needed.

The memory 218 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to store information such as, for example,executable instructions and data that may be utilized by the centralbaseband processor 214 and/or other associated component units such asthe network management engine 216. The memory 218 may comprise RAM, ROM,low latency nonvolatile memory such as, for example, flash memory and/orother suitable electronic data storage.

The end-user application device 220 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicatemultimedia information such as, for example, images, video, voice, aswell as any other forms of data with one or more application devicessuch as the master application device 210. The end-user applicationdevice 220 may comprise transceivers 222 through 224, and a centralbaseband processor 226, and a memory 228. In an exemplary embodiment ofthe invention, each of the transceivers 222 through 224 may be a normaltransceiver or a distributed transceiver. The transceivers 222 through224 may be equipped with antenna arrays 222 a-222 m, and 224 a-224 n,respectively. Depending on device capabilities and user preferences, thetransceivers 222 through 224 may be oriented in a fixed direction ormultiple different directions. The transceivers 222 through 224 may beoperable to receive and/or transmit radio frequency signals from and/orto the master application device 210 using air interface protocolsspecified in UMTS, GSM, LTE, WLAN, 60 GHz/mmWave, and/or WiMAX, forexample.

The central baseband processor 226 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to performbaseband digital signal processing needed for transmission and receivingoperation of the entire collection of transceivers 222 through 224. Forexample, the central baseband processor 226 may be operable to performwaveform generation, equalization, and/or packet processing associatedwith the operation of the transceivers 222 through 224. In addition, thecentral baseband processor 226 may be instructed or signaled by thenetwork management engine 216 to configure, manage and controlorientations of the transceivers 222 through 224.

In some embodiments of the invention, a multi-dimensionaltransmit-power-control scheme may be implemented by the NME module 216.In this regard, the NME 216 may be operable to form an optimizationproblem with transmit power levels of transceivers 212 a-212 e asoptimization parameters. The NME 216 may then search iteratively or in asingle shot for a set of transmit power levels for the distributedtransceivers 212 a-212 e that satisfy a set of correspondingrequirements/criteria. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention,exemplary criteria that may be used for the above optimization maycomprise maintaining reliable wireless link per transceiver, achieving atarget total throughput (sum of throughputs over all activetransceivers), minimizing total power transmitted over all activetransceivers, minimizing total power consumption by the activetransceivers, achieving a target sum “channel capacity” (sum of channelcapacities corresponding to active transceivers), minimizingtotal/effective cross-interference at the receiving end's transceivers,and/or minimizing total undesired interference caused to other activedevices in the vicinity.

Some embodiments of the invention may comprise transmit powerdistribution/budgeting schemes that may be applied over the transceiverswithin a device, the master application device 210, the end-userapplication device 220, or the end-user application device 250. In thisregard, distribution of transmit power levels may be optimized throughmeeting certain performance criteria. For example, assume that thethroughput achievable by the distributed transceiver 212 a as a functionits transmit power level is represented by T_212a{TXP_212a}. The totalachievable throughput then becomes T_total=T_212a{TXP_212a}+ . . .+T_212e{TXP_212e}. Then the power distribution optimization problembecomes finding a set of {TXP_212a, . . . , TXP_212e} values such thatT_total is above a target/desired throughput while the sum of TXP_212a+. . . +TXP_212e is minimized. The relationship between throughput andtransmit power level (i.e., T{.} function) may be defined by a look-uptable based on communication/system/implementation parameters, orderived from analytical throughout/channel-capacity formulas. In anotherexample, when cross-interference between the different simultaneouslinks is not negligible, then the throughput functions may be modifiedto represent the impact of all other transceivers' transmit power levelson each transceiver's throughput. In this case, the total throughputfunctions may be modified as T_total=T_212a{TXP_212a, . . . , TXP_212e}+. . . +T_212e{TXP_212a, . . . , TXP_212e}, since every link's throughputnow depends on all other transmit power levels. Again, the powerdistribution optimization problem becomes finding a set of {TXP_212a, .. . , TXP_212e} values such that the above T_total exceeds atarget/desired throughput while the sum of TXP_212a+ . . . +TXP_212e isminimized.

In some embodiments of the invention, the throughput function T{.} issubstituted with Shannon channel capacity function C{.} which is again afunction of transmit power level.

In some embodiments of the invention, a single device, the masterapplication device 210 or the end-user application device 220, forexample, may be configured to deploy a number of baseband processors toimplement the system and data processing requirements/demands. Forexample, several baseband processors may be deployed within the singledevice to generate and/or decode different data streams that may betransmitted/received by several distributed transceivers. In thisconfiguration, the network management engine 216 may also be operable tocontrol and coordinate the operation of the multiple baseband processorswithin the single device. In this regard, several internal connectiontopologies may be used or implemented. In some embodiments of theinvention, each baseband processor in the single device may be dedicatedto a subset of distributed transceivers and either ring/star topologiesmay be used. In this case, there may be no data transfer between thesubsets of distributed transceivers. In another embodiment of theinvention, the entire baseband processors and distributed transceiverswithin the single device may be connected together through a ringtopology (using a single cable). In this case, the baseband processorswithin the single device may be coordinated to share the cable utilizingtime-multiplexing at the same IF frequency or frequency-multiplexing atdifferent IF frequencies. The baseband processors within the singledevice may have different power/processing/communicationcharacteristics. In some embodiments of the invention, one or morebaseband processors that are most suitable for a mode of operation(e.g., lower power consumption meeting the throughput requirement) maybe activated and other baseband processors may be disabled for powersaving.

The memory 228 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to store information such as executableinstructions and data that may be utilized by the central basebandprocessor 226 and/or other associated component units such as weightcoefficients for the antenna arrays 222 a-222 m, and 224 a-224 n. Thememory 228 may comprise RAM, ROM, low latency nonvolatile memory suchas, for example, flash memory and/or other suitable electronic datastorage.

In an exemplary operation, a wireless link may be established betweenthe master application device 210 and the end-user application device220 through a reflector 230. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the master application device 210 may be operable tocontinuously scan the propagation environment to identify the directionsand antenna patterns that result in strong reflected signals at theend-user application device 220. Then, the master application device 210may associate each strong reflector with one of the collection ofdistributed transceivers 212 a through 212 e so as to transmit anindependent different data stream to the end-user application device 220over each distributed transceiver and through each strong reflector. Forexample, the master application device 210 transmits two data streams tothe end-user application device 220 using two different distributedtransceivers 212 a and 212 d that may use the same frequency channel. Inparticular, the distributed transceivers 212 a may choose a beam pattern250 and orientation for a direct LOS to a transceiver 222, for example,of the end-user application device 220 (the receiving device) andtransmit a first data stream over a carrier frequency RF₁. On the otherhand, the distributed transceiver 212 d may choose a different beampattern 252 and orientation that is pointing towards the reflector 230and transmit a second data stream also over the same carrier frequencyRF₁. The reflector 230 then may reflect the beam 252 towards a differenttransceiver 224 of the end-user application device 220. The selection ofthe beam patterns 250 and 252 may come from the central basebandprocessor 214 and the network management engine 216. In an exemplaryembodiment of the invention, the central baseband processor 214 mayprofile channel energy for directions of arrival and other schemes. Thenetwork management engine 216 may know communication environmentinformation such as, for example, the number of users, number of streamsneeded, and/or available frequency channels.

The network management engine 216 may correlate beam patterns orconfigurations with physical location utilizing a database 219 in themaster application device 210. The database 219 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to recordand/or store beam patterns or configurations in terms of correspondinglocation and orientation information. In this regard, once the location(even a coarse/initial location) and orientation of an applicationdevice and/or the distributed transceivers within an application deviceare determined, an initial assignment of active transceivers and/or beampattern or configuration for the associated antenna array 212 a may beselected from the database 219. The database 219 may comprise data therepresents the mapping of physical locations and/or orientations ofapplication devices in the environment to some initial “good” networkconfigurations such as list of transceivers to be active within eachdevice and their corresponding antenna/beam configurations. The database219 may continuously be updated and fine-tuned by the master applicationdevice 210 as more application devices enter the network and finerconfigurations may be derived by the network management engine 216.Additionally, the database 219 may be utilized to store and track thepositions of dominant reflectors in the environment and how the locationof those reflectors impacts the selection of optimal transceivers andantenna configurations. The NME 216 is operable to feed both theapproximate locations of application device and dominant reflectors tothe database 219 to derive an initial “good” network/deviceconfiguration. Various positioning techniques such as Angle-of-arrival(AOA), Time-of-Arrival (TOA) measurements may be utilized for initialcoarse positioning. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, anend-user application device such as the end-user application device 220may be operable to utilize Bluetooth and/or wireless LAN (WLAN) and/ormmWave to identify its own coarse position. In general, the same primarywireless protocol used for data communication (or an auxiliary wirelessprotocol) may be used for the purpose of the above-mentionedpositioning. In this regard, beaconing may be transmitted to communicatelocation and orientation information of the end-user application device220 to the network management engine 216. The network management engine216 may configure the associated distributed transceivers to differentdirections and beams. Antennas equipped to the distributed transceiversmay not necessarily be omnidirectional. The transmitted beacons maycover the entire geographic area of interest without requiring thedistributed transceivers to be equipped with omnidirectional antennas oromnidirectional antenna arrays. Beacon packets may be generally used forcontrol/negotiation amongst the devices in the network (e.g.,time/frequency allocations, network coordination/synchronization).Beacon packets therefore require a high fidelity and should be reliablycommunicated even without any good beamforming configurations. Toachieve this, beacon packets are desired to be transmitted in anomnidirectional fashion. In some embodiments of the invention, theavailable distributed transceivers are utilized and configured toprovide an effective omnidirectional coverage while maintaining higheffective-transmit-power in every direction. This may be achieved bysetting each transceiver in directional/beamforming configuration, buteach pointing at a different direction (and collectively covering thefull space). In some embodiments of the invention, the beaconingphase/period may be also used for initial/coarse positioning (inaddition to network setup/synchronization) where this initialpositioning data is fed into the database to derive “good”antenna/device configurations to be used for consequent high-throughputpackets.

An orientation finding unit 215 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to identify or findorientation information of the master application device 210. Theorientation finding unit 215 may comprise a gyroscope and/or anaccelerometer. The database 219 may be trained and improved over time soas to map fine beam patterns with location and orientation of device. Inan exemplary embodiment of the invention, the network management engine216 may utilize device location and orientation information to configurecorresponding beam patters to be utilized. For example, the centralbaseband processor 214 and the network management engine 216 may selectnarrow beams for close devices and may select wide beams for furtherdevices, respectively.

In one embodiment of the invention, the master application device 210may be operable to utilize the reflector 230 for the second data stream,for example, to lower the chances of an object blocking both the firstand second data streams, simultaneously. In other words, if a big enoughobject blocks the LOS between the master application device 210 and theend-user application device 220, the second data stream may likely beintact and sustained by complete direct reflecting through a reflectedpath 252 a. Although FIG. 2A shows one reflector 230, in one embodimentof the invention, several reflectors may be used to transmit one datastream or multiple data streams. The use of multiple reflectors mayprovide reflection diversification in case one reflector or a sub-set ofreflectors are blocked. In other words, instead of directing alltransmit power towards one reflector only, the total transmit power maybe distributed to propagate over a set of “good” reflectors in theenvironment. This distribution of power over different reflectors may bedone in a controlled, configurable, adaptive, and intelligent manner.For example, reflectors may be chosen and targeted that provide betterorthogonality between the different paths. In FIG. 2A, the masterapplication device 210 may use a second reflector at a differentlocation and another distributed transceiver 212 c, for example, tocommunicate with the end-user application device 220 and send a thirddata stream. Also the reflected path 252 a may be caused by more thanone reflector where, for example, the distributed transceiver 212 etransmits towards the reflector 230 and the reflection transmits towardsa second reflector and the reflection of the second reflector reachesthe end-user application device 220. In another embodiment of theinvention, the first and second data streams in FIG. 2A may comprise thesame data content and the use of LOS path and one or more reflectorpaths may provide link robustness for data content in case an obstacleblocks some of the paths.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the master applicationdevice 210 may continuously monitor and collect propagation environmentconditions, link quality, device capabilities, locations, targetthroughput, and/or application QoS requirements reported from theend-user application device 220. In this regard, a feedback channel 240may be utilized by the end-user device 220 to report and negotiateconfiguration information with the master application device 210. Thefeedback channel 240 may comprise a low-throughput connection or link,and may be implemented through a WLAN, Bluetooth, and/or 60 GHz link,for example. The reported information from the end-user applicationdevice 220 may comprise, for example, channel measurement, devicecapabilities, battery life, number of transceivers, number of antennasper transceiver, antenna polarization, radiation pattern, measuredcross-interference levels, antenna spacing, array geometry, the sequenceof antenna array coefficients being evaluated, device locations, targetthroughput, and/or application QoS requirements.

The network management engine 216 may allocate and manage resources suchas, for example, frequency channels, time slots, processors and/orstorage to establish and maintain connections or links between themaster application device 210 and the end-user application device 220based on the reported information. For example, the management engine120 may be operable to determine which transceivers are to be switchedON for transmission and at what transmit power levels based on devicelocations, power and battery storage capabilities and/or capacities, andantenna beamforming capabilities. Transmit power control, frequencyhopping and/or beam pattern hopping may be utilized to reduce outsideelectrical or RF interference during transmission.

FIG. 2B is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary usage scenario wherehigh-performance links are created between a master application deviceand one or more end-user application devices in a centralized manageddistributed transceiver network, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 2B, there is shown the master applicationdevice 210 and the end-user application device 220.

In an exemplary operation, two control links 280 b and 280 a may beestablished between the master application device 210 and the end-userapplication device 220. The control link 280 b is an uplink connectionfrom the end-user device 220 to the master application device 210. Thecontrol link 280 a is a downlink connection from the master applicationdevice 210 to the end-user device 220. The two control links 280 b and280 a may be implemented as low-rate high-fidelity high-range linksutilizing Bluetooth in the 2.4 GHz band, MAN in the 5 GHz band, or evena low-throughput mode of 60 GHz. In some instances, the masterapplication device 210 may attempt to establish a high-throughput link280 with the end-user application device 220. Initially, the masterapplication device 210 and the end-user application device 220 mayutilize the downlink control link 280 a and the uplink control link 280b, respectively, to negotiate corresponding configurations to be usedfor the high-throughput link 280. The network management engine 216 maybe operable to collect information from both the master applicationdevice 210 and the end-user application device 220. In an exemplaryembodiment of the invention, the NME 216 may be operable to collectinformation from all other devices in the vicinity even if nohigh-throughput links are established yet. The collected information maycomprise, for example, a number of transceivers, a number of antennasper transceiver, antenna polarization, radiation pattern, antennaspacing, array geometry, the sequence of antenna array coefficientsbeing evaluated or to be evaluated in the next time slots, devicelocations, target throughput, and/or application QoS requirements.Furthermore, the network management engine 216 may track the usage andavailability of resources such as frequency bands and bandwidth requestsby other devices in the vicinity. The network management engine 216 mayinstruct or signal the master application device 210 and the end-userapplication device 220 to start with an initial mode of operation suchas the spatial diversity mode. For example, in instances where therequested throughput targets are high and the network management engine216 identifies several available frequency bands, the network managementengine 216 instructs the master application device 210 to use thefrequency diversity mode. At this point, the master application device210 and the end-user application device 220 may be enabled to performchannel estimation, and to analyze and identify the bestdirection/pattern for each transceiver based on reflections andenvironment conditions. Once optimal configurations are selected, themaster application device 210 and the end-user application device 220may report corresponding link quality figures back to the networkmanagement engine 216. At this maintenance phase, the master applicationdevice 210 and the end-user application device 220 may continuereporting their link quality figures, as well as target throughputs andQoS requirements, to the network management engine 216. If at any time,the network management engine 216 determines that the throughput and QoSrequirements of the high-throughput link 280 between the masterapplication device 210 and the end-user application device 220 aresubstantially above the requested levels, the network management engine216 may configure the master application device 210 and the end-userapplication device 220 to switch to the spatial diversity mode, forexample, to free up bandwidth for other potential users. This change inconfiguration may be already available to the master application device210, and the end-user application device 220 may be notified about itover the downlink control link 280 a. The network management engine 216may utilize different rules or policies for configuring applicationdevices such as, for example, the master application device 210 and theend-user application device 220 in the communication network 100.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the network managementengine 216 may configure the master application device 210 to maintainconnections with the plurality of different end-user application devicesin the communication network 100 as needed. For example, a differentend-user application device 230 in the communication network 100 mayalso request to establish a different high-throughput link 290 with themaster application device 210. In this case, two different control links290 b and 290 a may be established between the master application device210 and the end-user application device 230. The control link 290 b isan uplink connection from the end-user device 230 to the masterapplication device 210. The control link 290 a is a downlink connectionfrom the master application device 210 to the end-user device 230. Thetwo control links 290 b and 290 a may be implemented as low-ratehigh-fidelity links utilizing Bluetooth in the 2.4 GHz band, WLAN in the5 GHz band, or even a low-throughput mode of 60 GHz.

In some instances, the end-user application device 230 may communicatethe link-request to the master application device 210 and to the networkmanagement engine 216 through a low-throughput control link 290 a fromthe end-user device 230 to the master application device 210. Based onthe throughput request of the end-user application device 230, thenetwork management engine 216 may configure the master applicationdevice 210 to free up a few of its distributed transceivers and shiftthe data streams between the master application device 210 and theend-user application device 220 to be transported over the samefrequency channel. The network management engine 216 may configure theidle transceivers of the master application device 210 to establish thehigh throughput link 290 with the end-user application device 230 on adifferent channel frequency. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the network management engine 216 may continuously monitornetwork requirements and conditions and may reconfigure the settings andutilizations of the entire application devices in the communicationnetwork 100. The network management engine 216 may be responsible forcompiling data such as the numbers of routes and buses for a givennetwork as well as its service population, and switching associatedtransceivers between different modes of operation, such as, for example,spatial diversity mode, frequency diversity mode, multiplexing mode, andMIMO mode.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary transceiver module, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3,there is shown a transceiver 300 comprising an antenna array 310, anantenna array with/without antenna combiner 320, down-converters 330,up-converters 340, and a multiplexer 350.

In an exemplary operation, the antenna array 310 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable totransmit and receive radio frequency (RF) signals over the air. Fortransmission the transceiver 300 may be operable to receive a transmitsignal from the central baseband processor 214. The transmit signalreceived from the central baseband processor 214 may be up-converted toRF frequency via the up-converters 340. For reception, the transceiver300 may pass a receive signal from the antenna array 310 afterdown-conversion to the central baseband processor 214. The multiplexer350 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code thatmay be operable to multiplex the transmit signal received from thecentral baseband processor 214 and the receive signal supplied from theantenna array 310. In this regard, the multiplexer 350 may utilizeeither time-division-multiplexing or frequency-domain-multiplexing tocommunicate the transmit signal and the receive signal over the samemedium such as a cable.

The antenna array with/without antenna combiner 320 may comprisesuitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operableto scale and/or phase-shift signals before the down-converters 330and/or signals after the up-converters 340. For example, in transmissionoperation the signal provided by the up-converters 340 may bephase-shifted by the shifter by different values. The resultingphase-shifted signals may be fed to different antenna elements withinthe antenna array 310. In another embodiment of the invention, theantenna array 310 may be oriented in a fixed direction or multipledifferent directions depending on antenna types and user preferences.For example, the antenna array 310 may be implemented as a fixeddirectional antenna array to provide maximal directionality (with noexplicit combiner). The same two modules, that is, the antenna array 310and the antenna array with/without antenna combiner 320, may becorrespondingly utilized in a reception operation for the transceiver300. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the operation of theantenna array with/without antenna combiner 320 may be managed orprogrammed by the network management engine 216.

The down-converters 330 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to translate a radiofrequency (RF) received from the antenna array 310 to anintermediate-frequency (IF) signal during reception. The up-converters340 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code thatmay be operable to translate an intermediate-frequency (IF) signal of acorresponding baseband signal supplied from the central basebandprocessor 214, for example to a RF signal during transmission.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, transceiver modules such asthe transceiver 300 may be operable to perform a carrier frequencyconversion or translation from F_IF (intermediate frequency) to F_RF(radio frequency) and vice versa. As an example, the network managementengine 216 may select F_IF in the range of a few GHz, and may selectF_RF in the range of 60 GHz, respectively. In an embodiment of theinvention, the input/output frequency of the transceiver 300 may be thesame, that is, and in this regard, no frequency up-conversion may beperformed. In this regard, the transceiver 300 may only perform signalamplification and feeding of signals into the antenna array 310.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary master device with acollection of distributed transceivers that are implemented in a startopology, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referringto FIG. 4, there is shown a central processor 400 that is connected to acollection of transceivers 410 a through 410N. As shown, the collectionof transceivers 410 a through 410N are connected to the centralprocessor 400 in a star topology with direct separate cables, forexample, from the central processor 400 to each of the collection oftransceivers 410 a through 410N.

The central processor 400 comprises a baseband processor 420, a networkmanagement engine 430, down-converters 440, up-converters 446, amultiplexer 450 and a memory 460. The baseband processor 420 maycomprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may beoperable to provide MODEM functionality. In this regard, the centralprocessor 400 may be operable to perform various baseband digitalprocessing such as, for example, MIMO, OFDM, channel coding, HARQ,channel estimation and equalization, Timing/Carrier recovery andsynchronization. The network management engine 430 may operate insubstantially the same manner as the network management engine 218 inFIG. 2. During transmission, a baseband signal supplied from thebaseband processor 420 may be translated into an intermediate-frequency(IF) signal. The up-converters 446 may further translate the IF signalto a final radio-frequency (RF) and send it over the air through anantenna array such as the antenna array 411 a. For reception, thetransceiver 410 a, for example, may pass a received RF signal from theantenna array 411 a to the down-converters 440. The down-converters 440may translate the RF signal into an IF signal. The IF signal may furtherbe translated to a baseband signal to the baseband processor 420, forexample. The multiplexer 450 may be responsible for multiplexingreceive/transmit signals utilizing either time-division-multiplexing orfrequency-domain-multiplexing. The memory 460 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to storeinformation such as executable instructions and data that may beutilized by the baseband processor 420 and/or other associated componentunits such as the network management engine 430. The memory 360 maycomprise RAM, ROM, low latency nonvolatile memory such as, for example,flash memory and/or other suitable electronic data storage.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a different control channelbetween the baseband processor 420 and each of the distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N may be utilized for configuring andmanaging corresponding transceivers. As shown, control channels 412 athrough 412N are utilized for configuring and managing the transceivers410 a through 410N, respectively. In this regard, the network managementengine 430 may determine which of the transceivers are to be switched ONor activated, and at what power levels. The network management engine430 may select beam patterns for the activated transceivers so that theleast power consumption is utilized. Beam patterns of the activatedtransceivers may be selected by correlating beam patterns orconfigurations with physical locations and/or orientations of theactivated transceivers. In this regard, the network management engine430 may communicate with the database 219 to identify or determinecorresponding beam patters or configurations based on correspondingphysical locations and orientations of the activated transceivers. Inaddition, the baseband processor 420 may manage and control transmitpower levels at each of the activated transceivers. In this regard,transmit power control mechanism may be applied at each of the activatedtransceivers to improve network performance.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N may operate in various modes such as,for example, spatial diversity mode; frequency diversity mode,multiplexing mode and multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) mode. Inspatial diversity mode, the central baseband processing 420 may beoperable to utilize the distributed transceivers 410 a through 410N toestablish a spatial diversity link with intended end user device such asthe end-user application device 220. For example, only a portion of thedistributed transceivers 410 a through 410N that may have strongpropagation channel responses are activated and other transceivers areswitched off for power saving. In another example, the distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N may be arranged such that the masterapplication device 210 (the transmitter) with available LOS towards theend-user device 220 (the receiver) may be configured to directly beamtowards the receiver. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, eachactive distributed transceiver may communicate data streams utilizingthe same final carrier frequency. In frequency diversity mode, thecentral baseband processing 420 may manage the distributed transceivers410 a through 410N similar to spatial diversity mode except that eachactive distributed transceiver may utilize a different final carrierfrequency if such frequency spectrum channel is available. Inmultiplexing mode, the central baseband processing 420 may manage thedistributed transceivers 410 a through 410N in such a way that differentstreams of data may be transmitted through different sets of thedistributed transceivers 410 a through 410N. For example, inmultiplexing mode, different distributed transceivers of the distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N may be dynamically programmed such thateach transceiver's maximum pattern gain may be pointing to a differentdirection or reflector. As the environment changes (and hence locationof reflectors and end user unit change), the antenna pattern of thedistributed transceivers 410 a through 410N may be re-adjusted. In MIMOmode, the central baseband processing 420 may manage the distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N in such a way that different streams ofdata may be transmitted through different sets of the distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N to a single receiver device such as theend-user application device 220. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the distributed transceivers 410 a through 410N may beconfigured to switch between spatial diversity mode, frequency diversitymode, multiplexing mode and multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) modebased on one or more characteristics or factors, such as for example,corresponding propagation environment conditions, link quality, devicecapabilities, device locations, usage of resources, resourceavailability, target throughput, application QoS requirements, etc.

In some embodiments of the invention, the interface between the basebandprocessor 420 and the distributed transceivers 410 a through 410N may bedifferent than an analog IF connection. In an exemplary case, thedistributed transceivers 410 a through 410N may compriseanalog-to-digital-converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog-converters(DACs). In this case, a transceiver such as the distributed transceiver410 a may receive digital bits from the baseband processors 420 througha digital link and use its internal DAC to generate an analog waveformand then perform the frequency up-conversion and beamforming steps fortransmission. Similarly, a transceiver such as the distributedtransceiver 410 a may receive an RF waveform, down-convert it, and thenuse its internal ADC to digitize the waveform and send the digital bitsover a digital connection/cable to the baseband processor 420. In otherembodiments, the distributed transceivers 410 a through 410N maycomprise multiple digital processing blocks or units. In this case, aportion of processing within the baseband processor 420 may be moved (interms of partitioning) to inside the transceivers boundary. In the aboveembodiments of the invention, one or more digital connections orinterfaces between the baseband processor 420 and the distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N may be implemented or deployed. Thedigital connections/interfaces may comprise Ethernet and various memorybus protocols.

In some embodiments of the invention, the cable connection between thecentral processor 400 and the distributed transceivers 410 a through410N may be substituted with an optical connection, printed-boardconnection, Ethernet cable, and/or another wireless connection.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary master device with acollection of distributed transceivers that are implemented in a ringtopology, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As shown,the collection of transceivers 410 a through 410N may be connected tothe central processor 400 in a ring topology with a single direct cablefrom the central processor 400 to each of the collection of transceivers410 a through 410N. In this regard, a single control channel between thebaseband processor 420 and each of the distributed transceivers 410 athrough 410N may be utilized for configuring the entire distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N as needed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary transceiver module with asingle antenna that has fixed directionality, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown atransceiver 600. The transceiver 600 comprises an antenna 610, aswitcher 620, down-converters 630, up-converters 640, and a multiplexer650. The down-converters 630, the up-converters 640, and the multiplexer650 may operate in substantially the same manner as the down-converters330, the up-converters 340, and the multiplexer 350, respectively. Insome embodiments, a device may utilize several such directional antennaseach attached to a different transceiver and installed at a differentpoint within the device. These antennas may be mounted to have theirmain lobes pointing at different directions in order to cover the space.Depending on environment/link conditions, then one or more of thesetransceivers/antennas may be selected by the NME 216 to provide a goodlink resulting in high received signal power at the other end.

In an exemplary operation, the antenna 610 may have fixeddirectionality. In this regard, the antenna 610 with fixeddirectionality may be utilized to generate a fixed beam pattern, whichresults in the minimized amount of PAs and LNAs in the transceiver 600.The switcher 620 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to switch on or off the transceiver600. For example, the switcher 620 may be configured or programmed toswitch on the transceiver 600 only orientated in the vicinity of thefixed directionality of the antenna 610 for power saving.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary transceiver module with aconfigurable phased antenna array, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. As shown a transceiver 700 that comprises an antennaarray 710, a switcher 620, down-converters 630, up-converters 640, and amultiplexer 650.

In an exemplary operation, the antenna array 710 may be a configurablephased antenna array. In this regard, the configurable phased antennaarray 710 may have various orientations. Accordingly, the configurablephased antenna array 710 may be utilized to generate a steerable beampattern to maximize coverage. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the switcher 620 may be configured to switch on only thetransceivers that have strong propagation channel responses and areactivated. Other transceivers may be switched off for power saving. Forexample, in some instances, the system identifies that transceiver 711 aof the configurable phased antenna array 710 has the best LOS link tothe receiver end (due to blocking objects in the room or nature ofreflectors in the room). In this case, only the transceiver 711 a may beswitched on by the switcher 620 to transmit data to the receiver end andall other transceivers 711 a through 711N of the configurable phasedantenna array 710 are switched off for power saving. Beam patterns ofthe transceiver 711 a may be selected or adjusted in various ways suchas, for example, by beam pattern hopping, by correlating beam patternsor configurations with the location of the transceiver 711 a, and/or byminimizing the power consumption. Beam pattern hopping is a method ofbeamforming by hopping beam patterns among a set of transmit/receiveantennas.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating exemplary steps utilized by a masterdevice with a collection of distributed transceivers to establish ahigh-throughput link with an end-user application device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 8, in step 802,the master application device 210 with one or more distributedtransceivers 212 a through 212 e is attempting to establish ahigh-throughput link with an end-user application device such as theend-user application device 220. The exemplary steps start with step804, where the master application device 210 may be operable toestablish two low-throughput high-fidelity links 280 b and 280 a betweenthe master application device 210 and the end-user application device220. The low-throughput high-fidelity link 280 b is an uplink connectionfrom the end-user device 220 to the master application device 210. Thelow-throughput high-fidelity link 280 a is a downlink connection fromthe master application device 210 to the end-user device 220.

In step 806, the network management engine 216 may be operable to trackand collect information about device capability, device locations,target throughput, and/or application QoS requirements utilizing thelow-throughput high-fidelity links from both the master applicationdevice 210 and the end-user application device 220. In step 808, themaster application device 210 and the end-user application device mayutilize the two low-throughput high-fidelity links 280 b and 280 a tonegotiate corresponding device configurations to be used for thehigh-throughput link based on the collected information. In step 810,the network management engine 216 may concurrently configure the masterapplication device 210 and the end-user application device 220 utilizingthe negotiated corresponding device configurations. In step 812, thenetwork management engine 216 may track the usage and availability ofresources in the communication network 100. In step 814, the networkmanagement engine 216 may instruct or signal the master applicationdevice 210 and the end-user application device 220 to establish thehigh-throughput link utilizing the allocated resources. In step 816, themaster application device 210 may communicate data streams with theend-user application device 220 over the high-throughput link.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating exemplary steps utilized by a masterdevice for resource management during communication, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 9, in step 902, themaster application device 210 with one or more distributed transceivers212 a through 212 e is communicating data streams over a high-throughputlink with one or more end-user application devices such as the end-userapplication devices 220-230. The exemplary steps start with step 904,where the network management engine 216 in the master application device210 may continuously monitor and collect propagation environmentconditions, link quality, device capabilities, device locations, targetthroughput, and/or application QoS requirements from the masterapplication device 210 and the end-user devices 220-230. In step 904,the network management engine 216 determines if a device configurationchange is needed. For example, the network management engine 216 mayevaluate the reported information such as link quality. In someinstances, the reported link quality may be substantially way belowacceptable levels. The network management engine 216 may determine thatthe master application device 210 and the end-user devices 220-230 needto be re-configured. The exemplary steps continue in step 906.

In step 906, the network management engine 216 may determineconfigurations for the master application device 210 and the end-userdevices 220-230 based on the collected propagation environmentconditions, link quality, device capabilities, device locations, targetthroughput, and/or application QoS requirements. The network managementengine 216 may concurrently configure the master application device 210and the end-user devices 220-230 based on the determined configurations.In step 908, the network management engine 216 may be operable toallocate and manage available resources to the master application device210 and the end-user application devices 220-230. Various resourceallocation and management mechanisms may be utilized by the networkmanagement engine 216. For example, for a given target throughput, thenetwork management engine 216 may determine which transceivers in themaster application device 210 and/or the end-user devices 220-230 shouldbe switched ON or activated, and at what transmit levels. The networkmanagement engine 216 may adjust and manage transmit power levels of theactivated transceivers.

In another example, the network management engine 216 may performfrequency and channel assignment, and beamforming without interferingwith one another. In this regard, frequency hoping and beam patternhopping may be utilized in frequency and channel assignment, andbeamforming, respectively. In addition, the network management engine216 may allocate resources and select beam patterns for the activatedtransceivers based on the physical locations of the activatedtransceivers. For example, narrow beams may be selected for devices inclose proximity, and wide beams may be selected for devices that may befurther away, respectively. For transmission, the network managementengine 216 may set low transmit power for data transmission to closedevices, and high transmit power for further devices, respectively. Theexemplary process continues in step 910, where the master applicationdevice 210 may communicate subsequent data streams with the end-userdevices 220-230 utilizing the allocated resources.

Aspects of a method and system for centralized resource management in adistributed transceiver network are provided. In accordance with variousexemplary embodiments of the invention, as described with respect toFIG. 1 through FIG. 9, a device such as the master application device210 comprises a plurality of distributed transceivers 212 a-212 e, thecentral baseband processor 214 and the network management engine 216.The plurality of distributed transceivers 212 a-212 e may be connectedto the central baseband processor 214 and the network management engine216 in the central processor 217 in a star topology or a ring topologyas shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. The master application device210 may be operable to communicate data streams that may comprisevarious multimedia information such as, for example, images, video,voice, as well as any other form of data utilizing one or moredistributed transceivers selected from the plurality of the distributedtransceivers 212 a-212 e to one or more other devices such as theend-user application devices 220-230. The network management engine 216may concurrently configure the selected one or more distributedtransceivers, for example, the distributed transceivers 212 a-212 c, andthe end-user application devices 220-230 based on corresponding linkquality and propagation environment during the data communication.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the network managementengine 216 may track the use and availability of resources such as, forexample, frequency and channel, time slots, processors and storage inthe communication network 100 during data communication. The networkmanagement engine 216 may allocate and manage resources through transmitpower control, frequency hopping and/or beam pattern hopping to reduceoutside electrical or RF interference during the data communication. Theentire collection of the distributed transceivers 212 a-212 e may becommunicatively coupled to the central processor 217 in a star topologyor a ring topology. The central baseband processor 214 may be operableto perform digital signal processing needed for transmit and receiveoperations for the selected one or more distributed transceivers 212a-212 c. During the data communication, the network management engine216 may be operable to monitor or scan communication environmentinformation such as, for example, propagation environment conditions,link quality, device capabilities, usage of resources, availableresources, device locations, target throughput, and/or application QoSrequirements. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the networkmanagement engine 216 may identify directions and antenna patterns thatresults in strong receive signals and/or a maximal coverage at thereceiving devices such as the end-user application device 220 based onthe corresponding propagation environment conditions and link quality.

The network management engine 216 may be operable to configurebeamforming settings and/or antenna arrangement for the selected one ormore distributed transceivers 212 a-212 c based on the identifieddirections and antenna patterns, device orientation, and/or receiverlocations. For example, the network management engine 216 may selectbeam patterns for the selected distributed transceivers so as tominimize power consumption. In another example, the network managementengine 216 may select beam patterns for the selected distributedtransceivers based on the location and orientation information of theend-user application devices 220-230. In this regard, the networkmanagement engine 216 may identify the location and orientationinformation of the end-user application devices 220-230 throughbeaconing transmitted from the end-user application devices 220-230utilizing Bluetooth and/or WLAN.

Other embodiments of the invention may provide a non-transitory computerreadable medium and/or storage medium, and/or a non-transitory machinereadable medium and/or storage medium, having stored thereon, a machinecode and/or a computer program having at least one code sectionexecutable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machineand/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for centralizedor distributed resource management in a distributed transceiver network.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of processing signals, the methodcomprising: in a device that comprises a plurality of distributedtransceivers, a central baseband processor and a network managementengine: communicating data streams utilizing one or more of saidplurality of distributed transceivers to one or more other devices; andconcurrently configuring said one or more of said plurality ofdistributed transceivers and said one or more other devices based oncorresponding link quality and propagation environment during saidcommunication.
 2. The method according to claim 1, comprising allocatingresources by said network management engine, to said device and said oneor more other devices during said communication.
 3. The method accordingto claim 2, wherein said resource allocating comprises frequencyhopping, beam pattern hopping, and/or transmit power controlling.
 4. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of distributedtransceivers are communicatively coupled to said central basebandprocessor and said network management engine in a star topology or aring topology.
 5. The method according to claim 1, comprising performingdigital signal processing by said central baseband processor fortransmit and receive operations for each of said one or more of saidplurality of distributed transceivers during said communication.
 6. Themethod according to claim 1, comprising monitoring by said networkmanagement engine, said corresponding link quality and said propagationenvironment during said communication.
 7. The method according to claim6, comprising dynamically configuring beamforming settings and antennaarrangement for said one or more of said plurality of distributedtransceivers based on said monitoring.
 8. The method according to claim7, comprising selecting beam patterns for said beamforming settings byminimizing power consumption.
 9. The method according to claim 7,comprising selecting beam patterns for said beamforming settings basedon corresponding locations of said one or more other devices.
 10. Themethod according to claim 9, wherein said corresponding locations ofsaid one or more other devices are identified utilizing Bluetooth and/orwireless LAN.
 11. A system for processing signals, the systemcomprising: a device that comprises a plurality of distributedtransceivers, a central baseband processor and a network managementengine, said device being operable to: communicate data streamsutilizing said one or more of said plurality of distributed transceiversto one or more other devices; and concurrently configure said one ormore of said plurality of distributed transceivers and said one or moreother devices based on corresponding link quality and propagationenvironment during said communication.
 12. The system according to claim11, wherein said network management engine allocates resources to saiddevice and said one or more other devices during said communication. 13.The system according to claim 12, wherein said resource allocatingcomprises frequency hopping, beam pattern hopping, and/or transmit powercontrolling.
 14. The system according to claim 11, wherein saidplurality of distributed transceivers are communicatively coupled tosaid central baseband processor and said network management engine in astar topology or a ring topology.
 15. The system according to claim 11,wherein said central baseband processor of said device performs digitalsignal processing for transmit and transmit and receive operations foreach of said one or more of said plurality of distributed transceiversduring said communication.
 16. The system according to claim 11, whereinsaid network management engine of said device monitors saidcorresponding link quality and said propagation environment during saidcommunication.
 17. The system according to claim 16, wherein saidnetwork management engine of said device dynamically configuresbeamforming settings and antenna arrangement for said one or more ofsaid plurality of distributed transceivers based on said monitoring. 18.The system according to claim 17, wherein said device selects beampatterns for said beamforming settings by minimizing power consumption.19. The system according to claim 17, wherein said device selects beampatterns for said beamforming settings based on corresponding locationsof said one or more other devices.
 20. The system according to claim 19,wherein said corresponding locations of said one or more other devicesare identified utilizing Bluetooth and/or wireless LAN.